According to information updated on the Japanese regulator’s website, the Kanto finance bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) today added seven firms to its warning list and cited that the entities lacked registration in Japan, while at the same time warning the public in the updated advisory.

The seven firms cited had either made solicitations or offered their services online in Japan and/or in Japanese, and include the following company names and brands or aliases: Trading Point (Seychelles) Limited (XM.com), TO88 LTD. (Trend Option), Star Material Asset Management.LTD (i Trader FX), Gallop Sea Limited (GALAXY Markets), Chemmi Holdings Limited (BinaryTilt), Brilliant Stage Limited (Brilliant One Forex), and BINEXT SOLUTIONS SRL LTD (GBinarys). The entities had addresses listed in the warning from countries including the UK, Marshall Islands, BVI, Romania, and New Zealand.

Firms not regulated in Japan

The agency noted that the information used in the warnings was obtained from solicitation materials, and therefore may be inaccurate while at the same time noting that the companies added to the warning indeed did not have the required licenses in Japan. In addition, investors are able to check on the Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA) website to confirm if a company is registered and regulated in the country.

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Such warnings from the Kanto finance bureau cite local supervision rules supporting the advisory warning to clients since the firms are not permitting to offer such services without a license in Japan, and as customers are not afforded the protections available to firms properly licensed and regulated in Japan.

In addition, firms on the list may have regulation in other jurisdictions, for example, while this is not sufficient for Japan as no such passports are recognised and firms need to also obtain JFSA authorization in order to do business in the country.